Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4	Req. No. 9821 Page 1 1
5	5	2
6	6	3
7	7	4
8	8	5
9	9	6
10	10	7
11	11	8
12	12	9
13	13	10
14	14	11
15	15	12
16	16	13
17	17	14
18	18	15
19	19	16
20	20	17
21	21	18
22	22	19
23	23	20
24	24	21
25	25	22
26	26	23
27	27	24
28	28	1
29	29	2
30	30	3
31	31	4
32	32	5
33	33	6
34	34	7
35	35	8
36	36	9
37	37	10
38	38	11
39	39	12
40	40	13
41	41	14
42	42	15
43	43	16
44	44	17
45	45	18
46	46	19
47	47	20
48	48	21
49	49	22
50	50	23
51	51	24
52	52
53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
56	56
57	57	HOUSE BILL 3531 By: Ranson
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to children; creating the Early
66	66	Childhood Task Force; providing for task force
67	67	membership; providing for election of chai r and vice-
68	68	chair; permitting the selection of honorary chair;
69	69	directing task force to provide reports ; disallowing
70	70	certain members from receiving compensation or
71	71	reimbursement; permitting certain members to claim
72	72	certain expenses; requiring task force to be subject
73	73	to the Oklahoma Open Records Act and Oklahoma Open
74	74	Meeting Act; providing that task force documents and
75	75	recommendations shall only be considered advice ;
76	76	providing a vision statement; providing a mission;
77	77	providing principles the task force is to be guided
78	78	by; providing tasks for the task force ; providing for
79	79	codification; and providing an effective date.
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83
84	84
85	85
86	86
87	87	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF O KLAHOMA:
88	88	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codifie d
89	89	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 390 of Title 10, unless there is
90	90	created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
91	91	A. There is hereby created the Early Childhood Task Force to
92	92	study and make recommendations to improve access to and increase the
93	93	quantity of high-quality early childhood services.
94	94
95	95
96	96	Req. No. 9821 Page 2 1
97	97	2
98	98	3
99	99	4
100	100	5
101	101	6
102	102	7
103	103	8
104	104	9
105	105	10
106	106	11
107	107	12
108	108	13
109	109	14
110	110	15
111	111	16
112	112	17
113	113	18
114	114	19
115	115	20
116	116	21
117	117	22
118	118	23
119	119	24
120	120	1
121	121	2
122	122	3
123	123	4
124	124	5
125	125	6
126	126	7
127	127	8
128	128	9
129	129	10
130	130	11
131	131	12
132	132	13
133	133	14
134	134	15
135	135	16
136	136	17
137	137	18
138	138	19
139	139	20
140	140	21
141	141	22
142	142	23
143	143	24
144	144
145	145	B. The task force shall be comprised of nineteen (19) members
146	146	to be appointed as follows:
147	147	1. The Secretary of Human Services, or a designee;
148	148	2. The State Commissioner of Health, or a designee;
149	149	3. The Secretary of Commerce, or a designee ;
150	150	4. The Secretary of Education, or a designee ;
151	151	5. A representative of business selected by the State Chamber
152	152	of Oklahoma;
153	153	6. A representative of a philanthropic organization dedicated
154	154	to early childhood;
155	155	7. A representative selected by the Director of Oklahoma Head
156	156	Start;
157	157	8. A representative selected by the Oklahoma Child Care
158	158	Association;
159	159	9. The Executive Director of Oklahoma Partnership for School
160	160	Readiness;
161	161	10. A representative of the Child ren's Advocacy Centers of
162	162	Oklahoma;
163	163	11. A representative of the Oklahoma Institute for Child
164	164	Advocacy;
165	165	12. An Oklahoma State Senator selected by the Pro Tempore of
166	166	the Senate;
167	167	13. An Oklahoma State Representative selected by the Speaker of
168	168	the House of Representatives ;
169	169
170	170
171	171	Req. No. 9821 Page 3 1
172	172	2
173	173	3
174	174	4
175	175	5
176	176	6
177	177	7
178	178	8
179	179	9
180	180	10
181	181	11
182	182	12
183	183	13
184	184	14
185	185	15
186	186	16
187	187	17
188	188	18
189	189	19
190	190	20
191	191	21
192	192	22
193	193	23
194	194	24
195	195	1
196	196	2
197	197	3
198	198	4
199	199	5
200	200	6
201	201	7
202	202	8
203	203	9
204	204	10
205	205	11
206	206	12
207	207	13
208	208	14
209	209	15
210	210	16
211	211	17
212	212	18
213	213	19
214	214	20
215	215	21
216	216	22
217	217	23
218	218	24
219	219
220	220	14. A representative of the Oklahoma Parent Teacher
221	221	Association;
222	222	15. A representative of parents with yo ung children selected by
223	223	the Oklahoma Early Childhood Program (OECP) ;
224	224	16. A representative respo nsible for programs under Part C of
225	225	the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA) selected by
226	226	the State Commissioner of Health ;
227	227	17. A representative from Oklahoma State University's
228	228	Department of Human Development and F amily Science selected by the
229	229	Director of the Department of Human D evelopment and Family Science;
230	230	18. A pediatric specialist selected by the Oklahoma Chapter of
231	231	the American Academy of Pediatrics ( OKAAP); and
232	232	19. A child development specialist selected by the Early
233	233	Childhood Education Institute.
234	234	C. The Early Childhood Task Force shall elect a chair and vice -
235	235	chair, or co-chairs, from the Task Force 's membership, and the chair
236	236	or co-chairs shall establish rules for the Task Force 's meetings and
237	237	the conducting of business. Upon the absence or vacancy of the
238	238	chair, the vice-chair shall serve as chair in an acting capacity.
239	239	D. An honorary chair may be selected to serve in a ceremonial
240	240	capacity. The honorary chair shall not serve as a voting member of
241	241	the Task Force but may engage with the work of the Task Force in an
242	242	advisory role or in a manner deemed appropriate by the chair or co -
243	243	chairs.
244	244
245	245
246	246	Req. No. 9821 Page 4 1
247	247	2
248	248	3
249	249	4
250	250	5
251	251	6
252	252	7
253	253	8
254	254	9
255	255	10
256	256	11
257	257	12
258	258	13
259	259	14
260	260	15
261	261	16
262	262	17
263	263	18
264	264	19
265	265	20
266	266	21
267	267	22
268	268	23
269	269	24
270	270	1
271	271	2
272	272	3
273	273	4
274	274	5
275	275	6
276	276	7
277	277	8
278	278	9
279	279	10
280	280	11
281	281	12
282	282	13
283	283	14
284	284	15
285	285	16
286	286	17
287	287	18
288	288	19
289	289	20
290	290	21
291	291	22
292	292	23
293	293	24
294	294
295	295	E. The Task Force shall develop and submit an initial report to
296	296	the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
297	297	of Representatives by November 2024 and a final report by November
298	298	2025.
299	299	F. Members shall receive no compensation o r reimbursement for
300	300	expenses and shall serve voluntarily. Officers or employees of
301	301	state agencies who are appointed to the Task Force as part of their
302	302	duties shall be authorized to participate on the Task Force and may
303	303	claim subsistence, allowance, mil eage, or associated expenses from
304	304	their respective agency budgets as permitted by law.
305	305	G. The Task Force shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records
306	306	Act and the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
307	307	H. Plans, reports, or recommendations of any nature adopted by
308	308	the Task Force shall be considered advice to the Legislature and
309	309	shall not be construed as official p olicies, positions, or
310	310	interpretations of laws, rule s, or regulations by any department or
311	311	agency of state government, nor shall any such department or agency
312	312	be bound in any manne r to consider such advice when conducting their
313	313	advisory and regulatory affa irs.
314	314	I. The Task Force shall be guided by the follo wing vision
315	315	statement: Oklahoma children, especially those between zero (0) and
316	316	five (5) years of age deserve healthy childhoods that are supported
317	317	by a robust early childhood system which improves outcomes and
318	318	effectively provides high-quality early care and education, adapts
319	319
320	320
321	321	Req. No. 9821 Page 5 1
322	322	2
323	323	3
324	324	4
325	325	5
326	326	6
327	327	7
328	328	8
329	329	9
330	330	10
331	331	11
332	332	12
333	333	13
334	334	14
335	335	15
336	336	16
337	337	17
338	338	18
339	339	19
340	340	20
341	341	21
342	342	22
343	343	23
344	344	24
345	345	1
346	346	2
347	347	3
348	348	4
349	349	5
350	350	6
351	351	7
352	352	8
353	353	9
354	354	10
355	355	11
356	356	12
357	357	13
358	358	14
359	359	15
360	360	16
361	361	17
362	362	18
363	363	19
364	364	20
365	365	21
366	366	22
367	367	23
368	368	24
369	369
370	370	to the needs of famil ies and communities, and is equitably
371	371	accessible to all communities across the state.
372	372	J. The Task Force shall work towards the mission of creating a
373	373	framework for a single agency governance structure for early
374	374	childhood programming that consolidates initiatives and funding
375	375	under the leadership of a new cabinet- or department-level position.
376	376	K. The Task Force's work shall be guided by a commitment to the
377	377	following principles:
378	378	1. Children, family, and community w ell-being shall be centered
379	379	throughout the Early Childhood Task Force's work;
380	380	2. Efforts shall be focused on max imizing efficiencies to
381	381	reduce the administrative burdens on families and improve access to
382	382	early childhood services through the creation of a new executive
383	383	agency or department;
384	384	3. The consolidation of early childhood services shall be
385	385	informed by what families and communities say they want and need;
386	386	4. Access to programs and services shall be equitable and
387	387	available to all children and families regardless of socioeconomic
388	388	status or geographic location;
389	389	5. Intentional focus shall be placed on developing strategies
390	390	to reach families and young children in care deserts or furthest
391	391	from opportunity and existing resource s;
392	392	6. Access to affordable and quality healthcare, nutrition,
393	393	childcare, mental health, home visiting, early interv ention, support
394	394
395	395
396	396	Req. No. 9821 Page 6 1
397	397	2
398	398	3
399	399	4
400	400	5
401	401	6
402	402	7
403	403	8
404	404	9
405	405	10
406	406	11
407	407	12
408	408	13
409	409	14
410	410	15
411	411	16
412	412	17
413	413	18
414	414	19
415	415	20
416	416	21
417	417	22
418	418	23
419	419	24
420	420	1
421	421	2
422	422	3
423	423	4
424	424	5
425	425	6
426	426	7
427	427	8
428	428	9
429	429	10
430	430	11
431	431	12
432	432	13
433	433	14
434	434	15
435	435	16
436	436	17
437	437	18
438	438	19
439	439	20
440	440	21
441	441	22
442	442	23
443	443	24
444	444
445	445	for families, early learning, and other services in the critical
446	446	prenatal to five (5) age period will decisively impact academic
447	447	success, economic oppor tunities, and the prosperity of Oklahoma;
448	448	7. Efforts shall be made to use data-informed approaches and
449	449	explore better ways to develop shared data systems;
450	450	8. Work shall focus on strengthening and expanding the
451	451	childcare delivery system already in use in Oklahoma;
452	452	9. Alignment across sectors and state ag encies will increase
453	453	capacity, maximize funding, and create a more streamlined delivery
454	454	of services;
455	455	10. The importance of growing a diverse and well -supported
456	456	early childhood workforce shall remain at the forefront and be
457	457	informed by the Task Force 's work;
458	458	11. While focusing on advancing the delivery system, work shall
459	459	highlight the importance of defining quality care and expanding
460	460	capacity and access to create a greater quantity of quality
461	461	services;
462	462	12. To incentivize innovation and respond to family n eeds,
463	463	communities must be empowered to develop local, community -based
464	464	solutions that take a whole -child and whole-family approach in
465	465	responding to needs;
466	466	13. To ensure holistic childhood well -being and improve health
467	467	outcomes, there must be alignment between state efforts to improve
468	468
469	469
470	470	Req. No. 9821 Page 7 1
471	471	2
472	472	3
473	473	4
474	474	5
475	475	6
476	476	7
477	477	8
478	478	9
479	479	10
480	480	11
481	481	12
482	482	13
483	483	14
484	484	15
485	485	16
486	486	17
487	487	18
488	488	19
489	489	20
490	490	21
491	491	22
492	492	23
493	493	24
494	494	1
495	495	2
496	496	3
497	497	4
498	498	5
499	499	6
500	500	7
501	501	8
502	502	9
503	503	10
504	504	11
505	505	12
506	506	13
507	507	14
508	508	15
509	509	16
510	510	17
511	511	18
512	512	19
513	513	20
514	514	21
515	515	22
516	516	23
517	517	24
518	518
519	519	early learning and care and existing prenatal and maternal health
520	520	initiatives; and
521	521	14. Strengthening early childhood developmental health is vital
522	522	to ensuring that children are prepared to achieve academic success
523	523	and are setup for lifelong learning.
524	524	L. The Task Force's duties shall include :
525	525	1. Conducting an analysis of the curren t early childhood
526	526	delivery system in O klahoma and how it is financed with specific
527	527	focus on gaps, inefficiencies, and redundancies. This work should
528	528	focus on how creating a single -agency governance structure for early
529	529	childhood services could overcome thes e challenges and improve how
530	530	care is delivered, accessed, and funded. This analysis must
531	531	specifically include:
532	532	a. a review of current early childhood programs and
533	533	policies dispersed between the Department of Human
534	534	Services, State Department of Health, Oklahoma
535	535	Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
536	536	Services, and the State Department of Education. The
537	537	review should pay special attention to where current
538	538	statutory authority over certain operations exists and
539	539	where possible areas of redundancy occur ,
540	540	b. a review of how current funding systems blend and
541	541	various funding opportunities, with special attention
542	542	as to how funding streams are currently utilized for
543	543
544	544
545	545	Req. No. 9821 Page 8 1
546	546	2
547	547	3
548	548	4
549	549	5
550	550	6
551	551	7
552	552	8
553	553	9
554	554	10
555	555	11
556	556	12
557	557	13
558	558	14
559	559	15
560	560	16
561	561	17
562	562	18
563	563	19
564	564	20
565	565	21
566	566	22
567	567	23
568	568	24
569	569	1
570	570	2
571	571	3
572	572	4
573	573	5
574	574	6
575	575	7
576	576	8
577	577	9
578	578	10
579	579	11
580	580	12
581	581	13
582	582	14
583	583	15
584	584	16
585	585	17
586	586	18
587	587	19
588	588	20
589	589	21
590	590	22
591	591	23
592	592	24
593	593
594	594	early childhood programs that are housed acros s
595	595	departments. This fiscal review should map the routes
596	596	all private, public, federal, and state funding
597	597	streams take from funding authority t o program
598	598	application,
599	599	c. a review of how Oklahoma might integrate existing
600	600	programming into a consolidated deliver y system and
601	601	what needs might exist for new programming that the
602	602	state currently lacks,
603	603	d. recommendations on how cross -agency collaboration an d
604	604	partnerships can be fostered to develop a who le-of-
605	605	government approach to strengthening the delivery of
606	606	early childhood services in a single -agency model,
607	607	(1) specifically ensuring that data infrastructure is
608	608	integrated across agencies, account for both
609	609	qualitative and quantitative methods, and can be
610	610	widely utilized by multiple state agencies ,
611	611	e. recommendations on how a single executive agency or
612	612	department might maximize efficiencies for early
613	613	childhood providers and their workforce. This work
614	614	should determine how licensing, workforce development
615	615	and support, and facility review can be improved to
616	616	eliminate barriers to entry for providers and
617	617	professionals. This should also include a review of
618	618
619	619
620	620	Req. No. 9821 Page 9 1
621	621	2
622	622	3
623	623	4
624	624	5
625	625	6
626	626	7
627	627	8
628	628	9
629	629	10
630	630	11
631	631	12
632	632	13
633	633	14
634	634	15
635	635	16
636	636	17
637	637	18
638	638	19
639	639	20
640	640	21
641	641	22
642	642	23
643	643	24
644	644	1
645	645	2
646	646	3
647	647	4
648	648	5
649	649	6
650	650	7
651	651	8
652	652	9
653	653	10
654	654	11
655	655	12
656	656	13
657	657	14
658	658	15
659	659	16
660	660	17
661	661	18
662	662	19
663	663	20
664	664	21
665	665	22
666	666	23
667	667	24
668	668
669	669	current regulatory structures that complicate the
670	670	process of entering the early childhood sector ,
671	671	f. recommendations on how a single executive agency or
672	672	department can strengthen the existing health care
673	673	workforce to better support the development of young
674	674	children and well-being of mothers through improved
675	675	access to comprehensive and preventive care. This
676	676	should also include a review of how to secure improved
677	677	health outcomes for children, financial sustainability
678	678	of delivery models, and cultivating workforce
679	679	pipelines,
680	680	g. an analysis of key lessons learned from states already
681	681	advancing consolidated systems of early childhood
682	682	governance to inform Oklahoma's own process;
683	683	2. Conducting a series of stakeholder engagement opportunities
684	684	to elicit feedback on the current early childhood governance
685	685	structure and better understand the needs of parents, families,
686	686	providers, and businesses;
687	687	a. Following the engagement of stakeholders, the Task
688	688	Force shall conduct a review that synthesizes feedback
689	689	received from families, providers, community leaders,
690	690	and the business sector . This review shall include
691	691	recommendations on how th e state delivery system and
692	692	governance model can be improved to respon d to family
693	693
694	694
695	695	Req. No. 9821 Page 10 1
696	696	2
697	697	3
698	698	4
699	699	5
700	700	6
701	701	7
702	702	8
703	703	9
704	704	10
705	705	11
706	706	12
707	707	13
708	708	14
709	709	15
710	710	16
711	711	17
712	712	18
713	713	19
714	714	20
715	715	21
716	716	22
717	717	23
718	718	24
719	719	1
720	720	2
721	721	3
722	722	4
723	723	5
724	724	6
725	725	7
726	726	8
727	727	9
728	728	10
729	729	11
730	730	12
731	731	13
732	732	14
733	733	15
734	734	16
735	735	17
736	736	18
737	737	19
738	738	20
739	739	21
740	740	22
741	741	23
742	742	24
743	743
744	744	and community needs. It shall also include
745	745	recommendations for how the state c an better engage
746	746	with parents, families, and communities on a regular
747	747	basis to ensure family -voice is centered in the work
748	748	of state agencies;
749	749	3. Drafting a transition plan to ensure the continuous
750	750	operation of state services upon the creation of a new state agency
751	751	for early childhood. This plan shall:
752	752	a. include detailed recommendations for what pr ograms and
753	753	services should remain in their current place or
754	754	transition into a new agency. Each recommendation
755	755	shall consider the challenges and benefits of moving
756	756	programs from one agency to another ,
757	757	b. focus on movement between agencies and how
758	758	collaboration can be strengthened with non executive
759	759	agencies. It shall also include recommendations for
760	760	any necessary interagency agreements ,
761	761	c. include a review of what additional funding and
762	762	resources might be needed to transition to a single -
763	763	agency governance model effectively and efficiently ,
764	764	d. Provide recommended goals and metrics for the agency
765	765	to strive towards once operational , and
766	766
767	767
768	768	Req. No. 9821 Page 11 1
769	769	2
770	770	3
771	771	4
772	772	5
773	773	6
774	774	7
775	775	8
776	776	9
777	777	10
778	778	11
779	779	12
780	780	13
781	781	14
782	782	15
783	783	16
784	784	17
785	785	18
786	786	19
787	787	20
788	788	21
789	789	22
790	790	23
791	791	24
792	792	1
793	793	2
794	794	3
795	795	4
796	796	5
797	797	6
798	798	7
799	799	8
800	800	9
801	801	10
802	802	11
803	803	12
804	804	13
805	805	14
806	806	15
807	807	16
808	808	17
809	809	18
810	810	19
811	811	20
812	812	21
813	813	22
814	814	23
815	815	24
816	816
817	817	4. Drafting proposed legislation that creates a new cabinet -
818	818	level, single state agency that oversees Oklahoma's early childhood
819	819	education and care programs.
820	820	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
821	821
822	822	59-2-9560 CMA 01/16/24

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB3531 Compare Versions